As soon as I saw there was a hurricane coming to the Gulf I knew to get ready. As a Native Galvestonian we’re taught early on what we need to prepare before it even comes your way because you just never know. So I did what I could in prep for Hurricane Beryl. I got the snacks for all of us, I got the extra baby supplies, I went to the liquor store, and I bought some more books lol In my head I was completely stocked and ready because that’s what we always need. The essentials. I was wrong. This time the power outage we had SUCKED SO MUCH MORE. This time there was a Heat Wave along with it since it was right in the middle of summer. So with that being said, it was already worse than anything. And for whatever reason Centerpoint wasn’t prepared, so we had no power for 3.5 days. And what did I do while I was away and couldn’t use the internet or my phone? I DID A READATHON OF COURSE! (As one bookish person does lol)
THE TBR:
I thought this was a little ambitious since most of these were physical books and it’s been taking so much longer for me to get through them. But the way my anxiety is set up, I haven’t been sleeping right so I put them all on there anyway. I don’t want to say anything about them since I will be posting reviews since I’m back on track, but let me just tell you, a lot of these SLAPPED and I am grateful I had a good TBR to keep me entertained through this madness.
The Dates:
I don’t think this would be fair without saying that I changed them as time went on. I started out with Sunday 07/07- Monday 07/08. As soon as we saw the library was closed on Tuesday as well (Beryl didn’t move out completely until like 5 in the evening on Monday), I added Tuesday. I was also out of work on Wednesday, but with no power I had some many other things I was doing that I never updated it on my reading journal page. I was out and about with the husband trying to find the baby a hot meal and get some other supplies for an extended power outage during a Heat Wave. So basically I counted it because I was off but I just didn’t keep track of everything besides me finishing a book if that makes sense.
And yes I recognize that this was impromptu and I did this completely on my own, but I had to set myself some boundaries or it would have been all willy nilly and not an actual readathon lol If that makes any sense whatsoever lmao
Completion:
So in total, (not counting Wednesday) I did a total of 25 hours. And I had completed 3/5 (not counting Wednesday) If we count Wednesday I have no idea how many hours, but I completed 4/5 of the books. And as a mom who just went through a hurricane with a toddler who doesn’t understand why we can’t watch Cars or get his tablet time, and two dogs that don’t understand why they’re becoming dehydrated all of a sudden, and a husband who hates the heat on a regular day, I would have been have happy with 1 completion and 2 hours lmao BUT s/o to my anxiety addled brain that wouldn’t allow me sleep until 4 am on some days and my flashlights for keeping the batteries even though I was using it to read those nights and day times when my munchkin napped or went to bother his Daddy instead lol
Reading Journal Page:
Back when I was thinking it was going to hit Sunday night/Monday morning and that I would be back at work on Tuesday. It was merely a category 1 after all. -___-
The finished page with more days and the totals added:
It says Corpus Christi because I was actually supposed to be going to Corpus Christi with my cousin who was going on a work trip. But because we didn’t know what was about to happen and because the path of Beryl was so uncertain I said no, I’m going to stay at home with my family. Glad i did because the thing was cancelled anyway lol And I don’t have any footage of my readathon because it would be dark and it would’ve drained my battery way faster, but this was actually a lot of fun to unplug and get some reading done. Given the circumstances. (And it really helped ease my anxiety a lot!)
What about you? Have you ever unplugged to get some reading done? Have you ever read during a natural disaster in your area? Let me know in the comments!